Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) occupy a singular and irreplaceable position within the American higher education ecosystem. They are not just postsecondary institu­tions, but also engines of tribal nation building, culture and language preservation, community vitality, and American Indian and Alaska Native knowledge transmission. For more than five decades, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) has served as the collective voice, convener, and strategic backbone of the Tribal College Movement.

In early 2022, AIHEC was selected by the Gates Foundation, a philanthropic organization that seeks to expand opportunities and build a more equal world, as one of six higher education organizations to participate in a five-year project called Higher Endeavor. The primary goal is to provide support services to postsecondary institutions and bolster student success with the hope of closing gaps in equity.

As the only American Indian organization in Higher Endeavor, AIHEC is serving as a national model for supporting American Indian higher education transformation. AIHEC calls this project the Cangleska Student Success Initiative (CSSI). A multi-year effort, CSSI is focused on institutional transformation, student success, and the strengthening of TCU capacity and technical infrastructure. Thirty-two TCUs receive a core set of services based on each institution’s respective goals and are offered customized support such as targeted coaching, resource development, or data analysis support. From a philanthropic perspective, CSSI’s alignment with the Gates Foundation’s Higher Endeavor goals represents a strategic approach to advancing large-scale, postsec­ondary transformation by investing in trusted organizations like AIHEC that are deeply rooted in the communities they serve.

TRANSFORMATION AT SCALE

Today, pressure is mounting for colleges and universities to trans­form. There’s a demand for a focus on workforce development, financial pressures are intensifying, and public confidence is wavering. A growing number of institutions are embracing the need to transform, and they seek networking, resources, and guidance in their efforts. Within the Gates Foundation’s Postsecondary Success Division, the Higher Endeavor strategy functions as an ecosystem where partners work toward what Gates defines as “institutional transformation at scale,” or the realignment of an institution’s structures, culture, and business model, and supporting that same transformation across many institutions through shared learning, intentional support, and sustained approaches. The ultimate goal is dramatic and equitable increases in outcomes and educa­tional value across more than 200 institutions in the United States. Central to Gates’ Higher Endeavor strategy is the role of “interme­diaries for scale,” a Gates-defined designation for partner organizations such as AIHEC that are responsible for coordinating services, stewarding shared learning, and supporting institutional transformation across networks of colleges.

AIHEC’s participation in Higher Endeavor as an intermediary for scale offers a distinct and critical opportunity for philanthropy to support TCUs in ways that honor tribal sovereignty, traditional knowledge systems, and community-defined measures of success. Rather than applying prescriptive reform models, the partnership has been intentionally structured to resource AIHEC’s leadership and governance role. This approach enables TCUs to define their own priorities; shape the technical assistance they receive; and establish data, research, and decision-making protocols aligned with tribal values and institutional realities. Central to this work is the protection and preservation of American Indian and Alaska Native cultures and languages, foundational elements of tribal nation building and student success that are often marginalized in mainstream reform efforts.

AIHEC’s transformation strategy is grounded in American Indian and Alaska Native ways of knowing and being, emphasizing balance, relationality, and interconnectedness across cultural, academic, and community dimensions. These principles are not treated as symbolic. They are operationalized through AIHEC’s design of technical assistance models, communities of practice (CoPs), data governance protocols, and institutional capacity-building efforts. Through this work, institutional transformation is under­stood not as a discrete set of interventions, but as a relational, iterative process rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

The Cangleska Student Success Initiative positions TCUs at the center of a coordinated, multi-year transformation effort aimed at strengthening institutional capacity, enhancing student success out­comes, and scaling American Indian-led educational practices. Through CSSI, AIHEC has coordinated a comprehensive suite of services ranging from institutional coaching and strategic planning to data infrastructure development, evaluation, and culturally grounded student success interventions. These efforts align with the core recommendations of AIHEC’s recent economic impact study regarding sustainable, community-based economic development. Importantly, CSSI is designed not only to address immediate institutional needs, but also to generate replicable frameworks that can be adapted and sustained across the TCU system.

At the heart of Gates’ Higher Endeavor goals and the Cangleska Student Success Initiative is institutional transformation through American Indian and Alaska Native-informed approaches. Photo courtesy of Northwest Indian College

Engagement with the Gates Foundation has been instrumental in enabling this work. The foundation’s recognition of the distinct role TCUs play in advancing educational equity has opened new pathways for programming, technical assistance, and national visibility. This part­nership has elevated TCU-led perspectives within national conversa­tions on student success, learning innovation, data use, and institutional transformation. Through these interactions, TCUs have been posi­tioned not merely as recipients of support, but as knowledge producers and thought leaders whose community-integrated approaches offer critical insights for the broader higher education landscape.

AIHEC’s member and student services technical assistance work has revealed both the immediate and long-term effects of culturally responsive service provision on TCU capacity building. Over the course of Higher Endeavor, AIHEC’s role as a service coordinator and provider has evolved significantly in response to a clear reality: TCUs require tailored, sovereignty-aligned assistance rather than the one-size-fits-all consulting models common in mainstream high­er education. Under AIHEC’s leadership, external service providers, including national research organizations, evaluation firms, and capacity-building specialists, have been required to modify their methodologies to align with American Indian and Alaska Native knowledge structures, tribal data sovereignty principles, and community-driven priorities.

This shift has generated learning well beyond the TCU system. Through sustained engagement with TCUs, service providers have developed deeper understandings of American Indian educational contexts, prompting changes in how equity-centered services are conceptualized and delivered across diverse minority-serving institutions. Investments in technical assistance, evaluation, data infrastructure, and faculty development through CSSI represent both an economic and strategic contribution to TCU sustainability. As documented in AIHEC’s assessments, these investments have supported institutional innovations likely to generate long-term benefits for tribal communities and regional economies.

As CSSI approaches its 2027 horizon, sustainability has become a central organizing concern. AIHEC has prioritized mechanisms that protect TCU autonomy and sovereignty, including formalized memoranda of understanding, strengthened institutional review board processes, and advocacy for American Indian and Alaska Native data sovereignty. These efforts align with tribal nation principles of data governance and reinforce tribal authority over educational research, evaluation, and institutional data, an essential condition for self-determination.

COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

One of the most significant and durable contributions of the Higher Endeavor strategy has been the establishment of structured communities of practice for advising, digital and distance learning, developmental education, institutional policy, and institutional research that are aligned with TCU priorities, cultural values, and technical assistance needs. Initially designed to support campuses engaged in transformation work, these CoPs have evolved into long-term platforms for peer learning, resource exchange, and collaborative problem solving.

Ahniwake Rose, AIHEC’s president and CEO, presents the findings of the organization’s recent economic impact study. With support from the Gates Foundation, the study shows how TCUs contributed $3.8 billion to the national economy.

The technical assistance model developed through CSSI has been foundational to the success of these CoPs. External providers, operating under AIHEC guidance, have been required to adopt culturally grounded frameworks and adapt their delivery models to the realities of small, rural, and under-resourced institutions. As a result, technical assistance has become increasingly relevant, effective, and sustainable. CoPs now serve as the mechanism through which this assistance is internalized, operationalized, and stewarded by TCU professionals themselves.

Each CoP functions simultaneously as a capacity-building envi­ronment and a governance structure. Participants collectively vet emerging practices, adapt external tools to Indigenous contexts, develop shared protocols, and generate new knowledge owned by the TCU community. CoPs also provide continuity in the face of staff turnover, a persistent challenge across the TCU system, ensuring that institutional knowledge and capacity gains are retained over time. Through regular convenings, digital collaboration spaces, and structured learning agendas, CoPs extend the impact of phil­anthropic investment far beyond the formal funding window.

Critically, CoPs also support sustainability by reducing long-term dependency on external providers. As TCU practitioners deepen their expertise in assessment, advising redesign, online pedagogy, and institutional planning, the role of external technical assistance shifts from foundational capacity-building to more specialized, elective support. This evolution positions AIHEC and its member institutions to sustain momentum well beyond the conclusion of Gates-funded support, with knowledge, tools, and processes firmly embedded within the TCU system.

BUILDING CAPACITY

At the organizational level, the partnership has had a significant and lasting impact on AIHEC’s capacity to support its members. Philanthropic investment through the Higher Endeavor strategy enabled AIHEC to make strategic, long-term capacity investments that would not have been feasible through operating funds alone. These resources supported the hiring of specialized staff and the engagement of expert consultants with deep experience in institu­tional effectiveness, data analysis, and economic modeling, all focused explicitly on strengthening organizational and institutional capacity across the TCU network. This intentional investment in human and technical infrastructure enhanced AIHEC’s ability to deliver system-level analysis and support that individual institu­tions, particularly small and rural TCUs, would be unable to undertake independently.

One of the most significant outcomes of this capacity-building investment was the development of a comprehensive economic impact study conducted in partnership with Lightcast, a develop­ment company that partnered with AIHEC to gain a comprehensive overview of the labor market and economic analysis of TCU communities. Conducted between 2024 and 2025, the study repre­sents the first national effort to systematically document TCUs’ collective economic contribution. The study produced institution-level, state-level, and national analyses that captured multiple dimensions of impact, including the direct and indirect effects of institutional operations, student spending in local and regional economies, and the long-term productivity and earnings of TCU alumni. by integrating these components, the study provides a holistic account of the economic value TCUs generate for their communities, tribal nations, states, and the nation as a whole.

The findings of the economic impact study are substantial. At the national level, TCUs collectively generate $3.8 billion in eco­nomic activity, a figure that underscores the scale and significance of institutions that are often overlooked in conventional higher education economic analyses. beyond aggregate figures, the study equips individual TCUs with institution-specific data that can be used to support strategic planning, advocacy, grant development, and engagement with tribal governments, state agencies, and federal partners. For many TCUs, this represents the first time they have had access to rigorous, externally validated economic data that reflects their full institutional contribution.

Importantly, this landmark analysis would not have been possible without philanthropic support from the Gates Foundation, which recognized the technical complexity and the sovereignty consider­ations involved in such a study. AIHEC’s role as an intermediary ensured that data collection, validation, and reporting processes respected tribal governance structures, institutional autonomy, and Indigenous data principles. In doing so, the economic impact study not only quantifies economic value but also models an approach to large-scale analysis that is tribally governed, methodologically rigorous, and aligned with community-defined priorities. As a result, the study stands as both an evidentiary contribution to national policy and funding conversations and a demonstration of how philanthropy can responsibly support Indigenous-led research that strengthens institutional sustainability and self-determination across the TCU system.

ELEVATING MEMBER AND STUDENT SERVICES

In parallel with its system-level transformation efforts, AIHEC established a dedicated member and student services office designed to strengthen institutional capacity across the TCU network through targeted support in data infrastructure, profes­sional development, and technical assistance. This office serves as a centralized hub, providing TCUs with sustained access to expertise, tools, and peer-learning opportunities that respond directly to insti­tutional priorities and capacity constraints. by establishing this office, AIHEC has been able to deliver support that is both technically rigorous and culturally grounded, ensuring alignment with tribal governance structures and community-defined measures of success.

A central focus of the member and student services office has been the modernization of the American Indian Measures for Success (AIMS) database, AIHEC’s longstanding data system for documenting student outcomes and institutional performance across TCUs. For more than 20 years, AIMS data had been collected and maintained in decentralized formats, often across hundreds of spreadsheets, limiting accessibility, consistency, and analytic potential. With philanthropic funding from the Gates Foundation, AIHEC undertook a comprehensive data modernization effort, migrating these historical datasets into a centralized, secure data warehouse designed to support longitudinal analysis and system-level insight while upholding principles of Indigenous data sovereignty.

The Gates Foundation, headquartered in Seattle, was built on the premise that people everywhere, regardless of identity or circumstances, should have the chance to live healthy, productive lives. As part of that goal, Gates has partnered with AIHEC in an effort to bolster tribal college student success. Photo by Sea Cow, Creative Commons

This infrastructure investment enabled the development of AIMS dashboards that represent a significant advancement in how data is accessed, interpreted, and used across the TCU system. Importantly, these dashboards were co-designed with TCU institu­tional research professionals to ensure that the tools reflect institu­tional realities, align with local decision-making needs, and respect tribal data governance protocols. The dashboards provide timely, user-friendly visualizations that support strategic plan­ning, internal reporting, accreditation processes, and continuous improvement efforts, while reducing the reporting burden on institutions with limited staff capacity. Currently, these dash­boards are available to TCUs.

Beyond technical functionality, the AIMS modernization effort reflects a broader shift toward tribally governed data systems that center Indigenous values and priorities. by strengthening data accessibility without compromising sovereignty, AIHEC has created a model for how American Indian-led consortia can build shared data infrastructure that enhances institutional capacity while maintaining local control. This work has also laid the foundation for deeper integration with national data initiatives and evaluation efforts, positioning TCUs to engage in broader postsecondary data ecosystems on their own terms. Collectively, the establishment of the member and student services office and the modernization of AIMS represent durable investments in institutional infrastructure that will continue to support TCU planning, accountability, and student success well beyond the lifecycle of philanthropic funding.

AIHEC’s participation in the Gates Foundation’s Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP) has further strengthened data capacity across the TCU network. While PDP reporting has required significant effort from already constrained institutions, it has also prompted meaningful improvements in data processes, manage­ment, and quality. Over time, these efforts have resulted in more reliable data systems and stronger institutional capacity to use data in support of student success.

LESSONS LEARNED

From a foundation learning perspective, AIHEC’s work has also informed the ongoing evolution of the Higher Endeavor strategy. Lessons emerging from communities of practice, sovereignty-aligned data governance, and American Indian and Alaska Native-informed approaches have enabled the Gates Foundation to sup­port reflection, learning, and strategy refinement. These insights contribute to broader conversations about what it means to support institutional transformation in ways that are culturally sustaining, sovereignty-respecting, and responsive to Indigenous contexts.

Equally important, this partnership has generated learning for philanthropy itself. Engagement with AIHEC and TCUs has reinforced the importance of flexibility, long-term investment horizons, and respect for Indigenous governance in advancing student success outcomes. These lessons extend beyond Higher Endeavor, shaping how philanthropic institutions approach evalua­tion, resource development, and systems-change work across diverse postsecondary contexts.

The Cangleska Student Success Initiative represents a defining moment in the trajectory of the Tribal College Movement. Through strategic philanthropic partnership, AIHEC has catalyzed durable investments in institutional capacity, data sovereignty, culturally grounded pedagogy, and national systems change. The emergence of communities of practice, technical assistance provisions, and the growing recognition of TCU epistemologies within mainstream reform conversations signal a profound shift in the higher education landscape. As CSSI moves toward its 2027 horizon, TCUs are posi­tioned not only to sustain these advancements, but to deepen their leadership as sovereign, community-anchored institutions shaping the future of Indigenous higher education, and, in doing so, redefin­ing what equitable institutional transformation can look like.

Jana M. Hanson, PhD, is the senior director of member and student services at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC); Andréa Rodriguez, EdD, is a program officer in the Postsecondary Success Division at the Gates Foundation; and Amber Morseau, Pokegenk Bodewadmik, MEd (Pokagon Band Citizen Potawatomi), serves as manager of membership and student services at AIHEC.